Indigenous Studies : Critical Intercultural Communication Theories, Issues, and Concepts

Abstract

Indigenous studies is an interdisciplinary field, related to American Indian studies (AIS) and later Native American studies (NAS) in the USA, First Nations studies in Canada, and Aboriginal studies in Australia, among other names. They involve approaches and techniques from anthropology, sociology, history, literature, political science, and gender studies. Researchers have stressed the importance of their commitment to native organizations as one of its key features, and the issues to be addressed have been those of most interest for indigenous peoples, such as historical works (concerning educational policies, oral tradition, religion, diasporas, removals, relocations, and treaties), language revitalization, teaching methods, participation of indigenous peoples in educational institutions, political issues such as autonomy, sovereignty, governance, racial issues, and indigenous knowledge systems.